Fed gun grab week in review (W.E. 2/8/2013)

Democrats wanting to disarm you is akin to oxidation on metal. You wipe it off, it starts again; you put some oil on it, oxidation starts somewhere else. They will never stop, so, WE....WE should never become complacent again--be as mad in good times as you are now, because they're always there...waiting, scheming. This is all our faults for not being more proactive: as soon as you let one in power, they start figuring out ways to tax and redistribute and take away as many rights as possible.

No matter what is decided by any courts, they're going to keep trying anything and before long, they'll win a few small concessions here and there. Before you know, your frog is boiled.

LANSDOWNE, Va. – House Democrats on Thursday unveiled a set of 14 gun-control proposals broadly similar to recommendations made by an Obama administration task force led by Vice President Biden after the December massacre of 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Conn.

The congressional group, spearheaded by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), endorsed the same core proposals as the administration: a universal background check system for gun purchases, a ban on high-capacity magazines and a renewal of the lapsed assault weapons ban.

Thompson’s group is also pushing for steps to crack down on gun trafficking and straw purchases and to boost school safety, gun safety training, mental health programs and to promote research on the “glorification of violence” in popular culture. In a press conference at their annual retreat in Virginia, Democratic leaders couched their proposals in the context of the Second Amendment, arguing that they would not infringe on anyone’s constitutional right to bear arms. (Now, they just said they wanted an "assault weapons ban," but, in the very next breath, they say they are not going to take away your 2nd Amendment rights? They are f'ing lying right to your face!)

“We know we can do that while still reducing gun violence in our country,” Thompson said. “I’m a hunter and I’m a gun owner, and I believe that we should protect law-abiding citizens’ right to own firearms. I’m not interested in giving up my guns and I wouldn’t ask anyone else to give up their guns.”

Rep. James Clyburn (S.C.), the assistant Democratic leader, emphasized that the issue was not about the Constitution, but about security. “This issue is about our children being safe in their classrooms and our families being secure in their homes,” he said. (It's for the children, right? They hate gunowners)

Gun control has been a central topic at the House Democratic retreat, and lawmakers released their proposal a day after Biden made an impassioned plea for support of the administration’s gun-control agenda on Wednesday night.

As the minority in the House, Democrats must wait for Republicans to allow a vote on gun legislation, but party leaders vowed that a significant majority of their caucus was broadly supportive of the recommendations.

Still, the political difficulty of passing gun legislation was never far from the conversation, and while Biden argued that times have changed since the 1994 passage of the assault weapons ban, Democrats did not dismiss the challenge of reinstating it nearly 20 years later.
“It was hard then, and it will be hard now,” Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said. “There’s a small window here to get something done.” (Translation: while Newtown is still fresh in people's minds . . . you go too long, and the kneejerk demands for disarmament from the sheeple will die off.)

Clyburn recalled the incremental progress of the Civil Rights movement and acknowledged that while Democrats would push for the whole package, they may not get all of it into law immediately.

“It may not pass, all of it, the first time out,” he said, “but I am convinced, I am convinced, that sooner rather than later, we will have comprehensive legislation.”(Boil that frog.)

At the same time, the leaders resisted efforts to focus from the outset on items that might draw more bipartisan support, such as the universal background checks, instead of pushing aggressively for a broader package that includes the assault weapons ban, which is seen as the heaviest political lift.

“I think we have to try to have the boldest possible package that reduces gun violence, and I don’t think we should try to find the slowest route right now,” Pelosi said.

“I think we should move as boldly as possible and see where we come out rather than just throwing in the towel on something that has no justification,” she added, referring to assault weapons. (What??)

Lawmakers said the differences between the House proposal and that of the Biden task force were minor, and Thompson said the separate group was important because action needed to come out of Congress, not merely the administration.
“The proposals that the White House is making, the proposals that Congressman Thompson and his task force are making, are consistent and very close together in their intent, in their letter and in their effect,” Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said.

The National Rifle Association sharply criticized the proposals in a statement Thursday afternoon.

“The 4.5 million men and women of the National Rifle Association and our tens of millions of supporters across the country strongly oppose this effort to enact the Obama gun control agenda," said Chris Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist. “The last thing America needs is more failed solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems. Congress should instead focus its energies on the things that will actually keep our families and communities safer – prosecuting criminals who misuse firearms; securing our schools; and fixing the broken mental health system that keeps dangerously ill people on the street.”

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Hundreds of demonstrators, many armed with high-powered rifles, descended on the Oregon Capitol on Friday in response to calls for stiffer gun restrictions in the wake of recent mass shootings.

Protesters said they wanted to show state lawmakers that they're peaceful, law-abiding gun owners and will fight new gun-control laws.

"We're out there, we're going to fight, and we're not going to lay down and take it," said Arin Forrest, a 33-year-old Portland man who clutched an American flag, an AR-15 rifle slung over his shoulder. "If they're going to take our rights, they need to look us in the eye and tell us why."

Under Oregon law, it's legal to openly carry a weapon in public, and people with concealed handgun licenses can carry their weapons in the Capitol. Most of the demonstrators kept their protest across the street from the statehouse, but a handful brought their weapons indoors.

Craig Jones, 28, of Bend, explored the Capitol with two friends, all three carrying high-powered rifles.

"I felt it's important for us to voice our concerns as taxpayers and registered voters," Jones said, standing in a corridor between offices for senators. "If we want our representatives to represent us, we have to tell them what we want."

The state police had extra troopers on hand, and signs on the Capitol's revolving doors warned visitors that firearms are prohibited without a concealed-carry permit.

Protecting gun-ownership rights is critical to ensuring the government doesn't become tyrannical, said Andy Harris, 45, of Beaverton.

"Thankfully we haven't had to worry about that, but we don't know what the future will hold," said Harris, who carried a home-built AR-15 rifle over his shoulder and a Glock 19 pistol on his hip.

Some Democratic legislators have introduced various bills requiring background checks for private gun sales, banning certain rifles and high-capacity magazines or prohibiting firearms in schools. Democrats control the House and Senate, but legislative leaders have said gun-control measures would be a tough sell with Republicans and centrist Democrats whose support would be needed.

"It's ludicrous that it's being shoved down our throats that we don't have the right to protect ourselves," said Richard Hannan, of Gresham. "The government is out of control."

These folks need to ALSO, eMail their State legislators and tell them, that if they should Vote for ANY New Gun Control Statutes, they will spend their "last Dime" to make sure they LOSE Their SEAT in the next Election Cycle. This is the ONLY way to pressure these Yahoos.

Bruce in alaska (BTPost) An Atheist will never be able to say, "I TOLD YOU SO"!! ....

These folks need to ALSO, eMail their State legislators and tell them, that if they should Vote for ANY New Gun Control Statutes, they will spend their "last Dime" to make sure they LOSE Their SEAT in the next Election Cycle. This is the ONLY way to pressure these Yahoos.

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Bruce I like the concept but my understanding is a mailed letter carries much more weight than an email, so I would suggest both.

Almost every elected representative both state and federal have at least one District office. Make an appointment and get face to face with them. Beats a letter or e-mail because you know they have heard your point of view whereas the mail gets filtered by their staff. If you do write, be sure to ask for a reply.